BJ Shea

BJ'S BLOG 03/28/13 "Pricey Hobbies"

Last week during Group Therapy, we read a message from a Rock-A-Holic named Mark who had a major problem involving his daughter and her hobby.

He spends many hours and thousands of dollars a week taking his daughter to gymnastic training; the problem he says is that she’s not good, and that’s putting it kindly.

He wishes she would quit so he could save all that money and time every day but his wife thinks she’s getting better when the truth is…she’s not.

He hates thinking this way but this is really putting a massive strain on his budget and doesn’t know how to talk to either his wife or daughter about this.

This is a very difficult situation because all kids need their hobbies and physical activities but to do something every day that is breaking the bank isn’t a very responsible thing to do.

Time is also a valuable resource that needs to be taken in account when a person is overstressed and overworked. Sometimes saving time is just as good as saving money.

The first thing Mark should is talk to his daughter to make sure this is something she even really likes.

Sometimes parents ask kids to tell the truth about stuff and parents get mad at them for telling them how they feel because it’s not what they wanted to hear. That’s when parent/children relationships get tainted early because they think they can’t be truthful with their parents.

Steve the Producer shared the story about how he stayed in Little League far longer than he wanted to because he was afraid of disappointing his parents. When he finally told them, they were relieved!

If she says that she’s really interested in going far in gymnastics, ask a professional what their honest opinion is of her ability is. If she has the potential to get better and even be great, then that might be something to invest in, if not, then talk to your daughter about other activities she might be interested in or a cheaper alternative like going to the Y.M.C.A.

If his wife and daughter still want to go through with the training, then they can take over the reigns so he can get part of his life back.